Hellenistic Greek World 400-1 BC

Case 8: Seeing Double?

Seeing Double?

In the later Greek and Roman periods, popular statues were frequently reproduced in all sizes and materials. Small-scale examples had a variety of functions: they could be offered to the gods in sanctuaries, or they could decorate wealthy homes. Most of these figures are reflections or adaptations of large-scale statues created in the Greek world between about 400 and 200 BC. Some of the later figures show distinctive alterations to suit later tastes. It is not always possible - or useful - to describe the ‘reproductions’ as either ‘Greek’ or ‘Roman’: rather they serve to demonstrate the artistic continuity between Greece and Rome.